POMPEA'S HISTORY
Adriano Rodella, champion of tights
What he says about himself is: “I’m a farmer”. However, Adriano Rodella – founder and owner of Pompea – is first and foremost an untiring builder of companies with an amazing intuition for innovations. This self-made man started early in life: at the age of 14 he was working in a hosiery factory.
Owing to his wealth of curiosity, there was not a single textile machine that concealed its secrets from him. In fact, he soon became a specialist. At the age of 24 he founded his first large hosiery factory. His unstoppable rise commenced, and led him to a leadership position in the nylon hosiery industry in Italy and Europe.
In the early ’80s Rodella discovered and exploited the potentials of elastomer by producing hosiery that immediately became fashionable.
At the end of the ’90s he founded Pompea. It as well produced nylon hosiery, but two years later Rodella extended it production to seamless underwear and acquired a brand that had become a myth, Roberta.
Today Pompea is leader in the ladies’ hosiery and underwear market.
Events that have made history
1996
Adriano Rodella, founder and maker of the success of Filodoro, established Pompea Spa and started the production and distribution of tights
1998
Joint venture with the Spanish company Gassol, owner of the Glory and Mimi brands
1999
Launch of ladies’ underwear with the seamless technology
2000
Strong support of the Pompea brand with TV communications
2001
Launch of seamless underwear for men and diversification with men’s socks
2002
License of the Barbie brand for the girls target
2003
Acquisition of the underwear brand Roberta
2004
Launch of Pompea GYM and Pompea Outwear for leisure time
2005
Launch of Pompea Junior for the age 3-10 target, underwear and hosiery and diversification in swimsuits
2006
Launch of the pyjamas collections for women, men and children
2007
Pompea opened a direct sales channel in Italy using the outlet formula
2008
Launch of the Natural line, cotton underwear for men and women bearing the Pompea trademark
2009
Underwear was expanded with the Silver line, with silver ion yarn and antibacterial and anti-odour action to achieve an unrivalled sensation of freshness and protection
2010
A surprising year: the invention of new fibres – containing milk and bamboo – give rise to the Milk Collection and Bamboo Collection lines. Colormania, Glory Corsetry and Medical Collection were also started, with the latter sold only in pharmacies.
2014
The new generation of massaging-effect tights with a soft and comfortable texture without forgetting elegance and femininity came into being with Happy Body System
2015
Two new “charms” for women arrived on the scene: “Legjeans”, push-up leggings with a denim look pattern, and the first push-up bra without underwire by Pompea
From tights to seamless
Pompea riscrive la storia del collant
Did you know that 14 kilometres of nylon are needed to make a pair of tights?
Here are the milestones of the evolution of the “modern” tights.
‘50s
The ’50s introduced a revolution: tights were no longer made of silk, but instead of nylon, a new fibre invented by DuPont that during the war was used to make parachutes. The circular machine for tights was invented during this same period.
‘60s
Along with the ’60s came the second revolution in hosiery, with DuPont once again its creator. The US giant launched its elastam on the market with the “Lycra” trademark. Initially, this fibre with honeycomb design was used only in medical socks. Soon, however, the mini skirt became popular and the use of Lycra was extended to all tights.
‘80s
The dawn of a new era. By combining the circular technology with new yarns, tights became the undisputed leading innovation in fashion. Filodor introduced the technique of covering elastomer with nylon and then, by using the alternate course technique (covered elastomer/nylon), it produced “silky” tights designed for everyday use.
‘90s
DuPont registered the Lycra 3D trademark for its processing technique of using covered elastomer in all the courses. This was the decade of beautiful, though costly, hosiery.
1999
Pompea developed the “seamless” technology and applied it to the production of underwear as well. The result was that it brought extraordinary innovation into the market and became famous worldwide with its trademark.
And the third millennium?
The beginning of the third millennium has marked the climax in the quest for comfort combined with the needs of fashion and style. Happy Body System, the Pompea line of products that incarnates the philosophy of “well-being”, is the fruit of the union of ethics and aesthetics.
(Continued…)